I live in a cottage that has a parking space and garage in the back of the lot. I have two cars and I usually park one in my parking space and one in the street. About one month ago, the weather was really windy. My neighbor's garage door lock somehow came undone and the garage doors were swinging back and forth. When I went to work that morning, I saw the garage doors and noticed the doors had been slamming on the side of one of my cars. A noticeable dent was left. I asked the neighbor about it and he said that he had wrapped a cloth or plastic around the lock so the garage doors wouldn't open. I was angry but let it go.

The day before it was windy again. My 2nd car was parked in my parking space. Yesterday I noticed that my 2nd car was all banged up on one spot - similar to what happened on my other car. The garage door left white paint and a huge dent. I plan to ask the neighbor about it - but the fact is both of my cars have been damaged.

Whose fault is this? Should I blow this off because it was windy? Shouldn't this neighbor have assured that this wouldn't happen again? Can I take him to small claims Court and sue so I can have the dents repaired? I don't think I should have to pay for this or my insurance. What should I do? Thanks.

I would ask him to pay for the damage. As long as you were not parking in front of his garage, or in his parking space. He should have secured his garage doors so they didn't fly open, if he didn't, he should expect to pay for the damage.

His homeowner's / renter's liab insurance should pay for it, ask him to file a claim and give you the companies tel and claim number once he's filed it so you can verify it's been filed.

Unless the wind was the result of a hurricaine, tornado or some other terrific "act of God" your neighbour has a responsibility to ensure that his doors don't blow open onto your property because if they do, and they cause damage, your neighbour becomes responsible.

We recommend that you obtain three written repair estimates and ask him to pay the cost of the lowest one.